DeAngelo Hall said that the Redskins’ defense has “a secondary full of misfits” when speaking to the media yesterday. He said it with a smile but there was more truth in his statement than he or anyone else might care to admit. Here is the background of some players who should be major contributors to in the secondary this year:
Brandon Meriweather—He’s with his third team in the past 12 months. Meriweather has had a few brushes with the law including a recent 180-day suspended jail sentence in connection with a DUI charge.
Tanard Jackson—After coming off of a one-year suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy, Jackson signed a contract extension with the Bucs last October. They cut him in April.
Madieu Williams—He played sparingly in San Francisco last year after they signed him as a free agent.
DeJon Gomes—A fifth-round draft pick
Reed Doughty—Any time he is in the lineup, Redskins fans point the finger at him anytime the opposition makes a big play. Sometimes it’s warranted, sometimes it’s not.
Cedric Griffin—He tore the ACL in his left knee playing in the NFC title game for the Vikings in January of 2010. He rehabbed and was back later that calendar year for Minnesota’s Week 5 game. Then, in Week 5, he tore the ACL on his right knee.
Josh Wilson—When he signed as a free agent last year, the Redskins were his third team in three years. After the 2009 season Seattle traded him to Baltimore and the Ravens let him go as a free agent at the end of 2010.
Raheem Morris—The secondary coach was one of the youngest head coaches in NFL history at the age of 32 when the Bucs promoted from position coach straight to head coach after firing Jon Gruden. He probably was one of the youngest head coaches ever fired after Tampa Bay lost its last 10 games of last season
Although Hall has been a staple in the Redskins secondary for a while, he fits the misfit mold as well. He complained his way out of Atlanta after the 2007 season. The Raiders gave up a second-round pick to get him and gave him seven-year, $70 million contract. They cut him halfway into the first year of the deal.
The “misfits” label may or may not stick, but the shoe certainly does fit.
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